THE PLACE CALLED PARADISE

A well-established fact.

Of all the many well-attested incidents in the life of Jesus, there is none more firmly established than the fact that Jesus rose from death to a newness of life. His resurrection was an actual uprising of the physical body which He had laid down, and a renewal of all the life forces. Jesus had plainly foretold that He would rise from the tomb on the third day after His death; but such a performance was so foreign to the experience of His disciples, that they failed to grasp the full significance of His sayings. You can appreciate yourselves how difficult it would be for you, even with your present knowledge, to get the full meaning of such a saying as this: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." But it is never safe to question a fact merely because we have not experienced it ourselves. We walk by faith, and by faith is accomplished all the world's work. Our faith in the resurrection of Jesus is doubly assured by our faith in the testimonies of those who knew Him and saw Him.

The first five appearances of the risen Christ.

Ten separate and distinct appearances of the risen Redeemer are recorded in the New Testament. First, on the morning of the resurrection, He appeared to Mary Magdalene, who had come early in the morning with Mary, the mother of Jesus, Salome and Joanna to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. When Mary recognized Him, she said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni." Jesus answered, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God and your God." Soon thereafter, Jesus appeared to the other three women and called to them, "All hail. And they came and took hold of His feet, and worshipped Him." Then, in the afternoon of the resurrection day, Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another of the disciples as they were journeying to Emmaus, and interpreted to them the scriptures concerning Himself. The fourth appearance of the risen Christ was to Peter; but when or where we do not know. At the fifth appearance, Jesus appeared suddenly to ten of His disciples, and said, "Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And when He had thus spoken. He shewed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them. Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them."

Five more appearances of the Christ and the ascension.

When Jesus appeared thus suddenly and partook of the broiled fish, Thomas was not present. Eight days later, when the disciples were again behind closed doors, Jesus stood again suddenly amongst them and said, "Peace be unto you." This time Thomas was present. Jesus said to him, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." When next Jesus appeared, there were only seven of the apostles present. They were at the sea of Tiberias, and had gone fishing. Jesus appeared before them, and directed them where to cast their nets. Then the apostles recognized Him. It was at this appearance that Jesus charged Peter as the leader of His apostles to feed His sheep. At the next appearance, Jesus showed Himself to the eleven apostles and probably more than five hundred brethren, who had assembled on a mount in Galilee appointed by Jesus. Here Jesus commissioned His apostles to preach the Gospel to all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. The ninth appearance was to James, the Lord's brother. Of this we know only the recorded fact. At the last appearance, Jesus came to the eleven apostles somewhere in Jerusalem. After He had instructed them at some length, He led them out of Jerusalem toward Bethany. Then, "He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven."

The value of the testimonies.

These testimonies, you see, are of such a nature that they cannot be doubted. Altogether more than five hundred persons saw Jesus after His resurrection. And His appearance in many instances was accompanied by such evidence that there can be no doubt that the resurrected body of Jesus was an actual body of flesh and bones, as material and as tangible as was the body before death. And with this material body Jesus ascended into heaven before the adoring eyes of His devoted followers.

Where had Jesus been?

But there remains a statement made by Jesus during the first recorded appearance after His resurrection, which needs to be explained. When Mary Magdalene would have touched Him, you recall, Jesus prevented her, saying, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." Now, the common belief of the world is, that, at death, the spirit of the righteous departed ascends immediately to heaven, into the kingdom of God. Jesus had been nearly three days dead; still, at His resurrection. He had not yet been in the presence of His Father. Where had He been? What had He been doing? Do the scriptures give us any information in answer to these questions?

Today in Paradise.

Evidently, Jesus had been in a place called Paradise. When Jesus was put to death, two thieves were crucified with Him. "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, it is recorded, "saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Can there be any doubt that Jesus went at His death to the place called Paradise and abode there? But where is Paradise, or what kind of place is Paradise? The Gospel to the dead.

Where Paradise is we may not be able to determine; but what kind of place it is, it should not be difficult to discover. Teaching at Jerusalem one day, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." But how could the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, unless He should minister also in the place of the dead? This undoubtedly is what Jesus meant; this, too, must be what He meant when He said to the malefactor, "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise." And this is what the apostles learned to know to be the meaning of these sayings of Jesus. Peter, writing to the scattered churches, declared the truth in these words: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." And again, in the same epistle, Peter said, "For, for this reason was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." This makes it clear to us, then, that Jesus's promise to the malefactor, meant that Jesus would meet him that day in the abode of spirits. For thither did Jesus go that the dead also might hear His voice. His mission to the living was accomplished; He had yet to minister to the dead. Only when that ministry was finished could He return to His Father and report His labor accomplished. We may not know where Paradise is; but we know that the place called Paradise is the abode of the spirits of those who have lived in the flesh and have not yet been resurrected.

A plain explanation.

As usual, modern revelation makes plain to us things that are somewhat obscure in the Jewish Scriptures. The great Nephite prophet and philosopher, Alma, writing under the direction of an angel and the inspiration of Jesus Christ, explains very clearly the state of the spirit during the time between death and the resurrection. Says he, "Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death, and the time of the resurrection. And now I would inquire what becometh of the souls of men from this time of death, to the time appointed for the resurrection? Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection. Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass that the spirits of those who are righteous, are received into a state of happiness, which is called 'Paradise'; a state of rest; a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow, etc. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil; for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house; and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and this because of their own iniquity; being led captive by the will of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked; yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection."

Every knee and every tongue.

Not only in His life, but in the spirit ministry and in His resurrection, Jesus taught truths of vital importance to man in his search after God and eternal life. Resurrection is an actual uprising of a tangible physical body. In the resurrection we shall be as Jesus was. And the privileges of the divine plan of salvation are extended to the dead as well as to the living. That is why we perform the saving ordinances for the dead in the House of the Lord. "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under earth; and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

THE REFERENCES

Matt. 28:1-20. 1 Cor. 15:5-7.

Mark 16:1-20. John 5:25.

Luke 23:56-24:53. 1 Peter 3:18-20.

John 20:1-21:25. 1 Peter 4:6.

Philip 2:9-11. Alma 40:6-14.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What was the nature of Christ's resurrection?

2. What evidence can you adduce to prove that Jesus was actually resurrected?

3. How can you prove that the resurrected body of Jesus was a tangible body of flesh and bones?

4. Where was the Spirit of Jesus while His body lay in the tomb?

5. What kind of place is paradise?

6. What Gospel privileges are extended to the dead?

7. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us?

THE GOOD SHEPHERD, Plockhorst

THE GOOD SHEPHERD, Plockhorst